First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Separately, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.30.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCF opened at $18.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. First Commonwealth Financial has a 52 week low of $12.41 and a 52 week high of $19.96.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 21.87% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The business had revenue of $121.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

Insider Activity

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 2,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.99 per share, with a total value of $49,593.81. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $979,014.77. This trade represents a 5.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter worth $678,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 136,563 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,886,000 after buying an additional 47,466 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the second quarter valued at about $693,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 538,964 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,243,000 after buying an additional 36,001 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

About First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking services in the United States. Its consumer services include personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, IRA accounts, and automated teller machine (atm) services, as well as internet, mobile, and telephone banking services.